The future of small businesses as the country reopens

Guests: Mark Zandi, Maura Shenker, Donavan West 

The Philadelphia region enters the “yellow phase” today which allows many businesses to begin in-person operations. After months of coronavirus shutdowns, businesses across the nation were preparing for life after the pandemic. But as we enter into another day of protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd, business owners are facing additional challenges: how to operate during a time of national and international unrest? MAURA SHENKER, director of the Small Business Development Center at Temple University’s Fox School of Business and DONAVAN WEST, president of the local African American Chamber of Commerce, join us to talk about how local businesses have coped with the shutdown and the protests and what resources they need to survive. But first, MARK ZANDI, chief economist with Moody’s Analytics talks about the new jobless numbers, some good news  as the country begins reopening, and what the drop in unemployment says about the state of the economy.